Starfield allows players to learn a wide array of unique skills, contributing to a diverse gameplay experience. Here’s a complete breakdown of all skills available, organized into different categories.
Bethesda’s experience in crafting role-playing games like The Elder Scrolls and Fallout shines through in the detailed skill system of Starfield, highlighting their decades-long expertise in the RPG genre.
A staple of these games has been detailed and in-depth skill trees. A big weave of abilities tied to certain attributes and traits. Players can then use them to improve and add to their character to increase their proficiency in certain areas.
Starfield also utilizes this successful system, and we already know a bunch of skills that will feature in Behesda’s epic sci-fi RPG game.
Contents
- How many abilities & skills are in Starfield?
- How to upgrade skills in Starfield
- Every Starfield ability & skill confirmed
How many abilities & skills are in Starfield?
There are a grand total of 82 abilities for players to unlock in Starfield.
These are split into the following categories:
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- Combat
- Physical
- Science
- Social
- Tech
How to upgrade skills in Starfield
To gain access to a skill in Starfield, you must first purchase it with a skill point, Once you’ve done that, you can then only upgrade the skill by satisfying a certain gameplay requirement.
For example, if you purchase the Ballistics ability using a skill point, you can then upgrade it to the next level by meeting the following objective: “Kill 250 enemies with a ballistic weapon.”
Every Starfield ability & skill in the game
Here’s a close look at all the skills and abilities you can learn in Starfield.
| Skill Name | Ability Type | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Astrodynamics | Science | Decreases Grav Jump fuel cost |
| Astrophysics | Science | Increases trait chance while scanning moons |
| Armor Penetration | Combat | Attacks ignore 15% of a targets armor |
| Aneutronic Fusion | Science | Your ship reactions produce 1 extra unit of power |
| Automated Weapons Systems | Tech | Automated ship weapons deal 10% more damage & targeting mod costs are reduced by 20% |
| Ballistic Weapon Systems | Tech | Increases ship Ballistic DMG |
| Ballistics | Combat | Increases Ballistic weapon DMG |
| Bargaining | Social | Buy items for less and sell for more |
| Boost Attack Training | Tech | Nearby enemies take damage when you use your boost pack |
| Boost Pack Training | Tech | Increases Boost Jump height |
| Botany | Science | Increases flora scan speed |
| Boxing | Physical | Unarmed attacks do 25% more damage |
| Cellular Regeneration | Physical | Your ability to recover from injury naturally is slightly increased |
| Chemistry | Science | Craft improved chems |
| Crippling | Combat | Human enemies have a 30% chance of entering a downed state after taking damage |
| Commerce | Social | Build better trading outposts |
| Concealment | Physical | Harder to detect while sneaking |
| Deception | Social | Enemy contraband scans are 10% less effective and Ships 10% stronger than yours will automatically surrender |
| Decontamination | Physical | Increases infection recovery chance |
| Demolitions | Combat | Increases Explosive DMG and radius |
| Diplomacy | Social | Force an NPC not to attack you temporarily |
| Dueling | Combat | Increases Melee weapon DMG |
| EM Weapon Systems | Tech | EM ship weapons deal 10% more damage & and cost 15% less to use in targeting mode |
| Energy Weapon Dissipation | Physical | Energy damage in reduced by 5% |
| Energy Weapon Systems | Tech | Energy ship weapons deal 10% more damage |
| Energy Sytems | Tech | Ship speed is increased by 10% |
| Environmental Conditioning | Physical | 10% resistance to Airborne environmental damage. |
| Fitness | Physical | You have 10% more oxygen |
| Gastronomy | Social | Can craft specialty food and drinks |
| Geology | Science | Increases ore scan speed |
| Gymnastics | Physical | Fall damage is reduced by 15% & you unlock the ability to combat slide |
| Heavy Weapons Certification | Combat | Increases Heavy weapon DMG |
| Incapacitation | Combat | EM weapons deal 15% more damage |
| Instigation | Social | Force an NPC to join you temporarily |
| Intimidation | Social | Force an NPC to flee from you temporarily |
| Isolation | Social | Gain 10% weapon damage 15% damage resistance for each spacesuit and helmet you have equipped when you’re travelling without a companion or crew. |
| Lasers | Combat | Increases Laser weapon DMG |
| Leadership | Social | Companions gain affinity faster |
| Manipulation | Social | You can force a target NPC below your level to obey your orders for a limited amount of time |
| Marksmanship | Combat | Increases Marksman weapon DMG |
| Martial Arts | Physical | Unarmed attacks use less Oxygen |
| Medicine | Science | Increases Med Pack healing |
| Missile Weapons System | Tech | Increases ship Missile DMG |
| Nutrition | Physical | Food & drink are 10% more effective |
| Negotiation | Social | Grants access to Bribery dialouge options. |
| Neurostrikes | Physical | Increases unarmed attack crit DMG |
| Outpost Engineering | Science | Build advanced outpost modules |
| Outpost Management | Social | Can establish trade routes between outposts |
| Pain Tolerance | Physical | Physical damage is reduced by 5% |
| Particle Beam Weapon Systems | Tech | Increase ship Particle Beam DMG |
| Particle Beams | Combat | Increases Particle Beam weapon DMG |
| Payloads | Tech | Increases ship cargo capacity |
| Persuasion | Social | Increases success chance for speech challenges |
| Piloting | Tech | Increases ship speed |
| Pistol Certification | Combat | Increases Pistol DMG |
| Plantery Habitation | Science | You can build outposts on planets with extreme tempatures |
| Rapid Reloading | Combat | Increases weapon reload speed |
| Rejuvenation | Physical | Health regenerates slowly when you’re outside of combat |
| Research Methods | Science | Resources needed to craft items and research projects are reduced by 10% |
| Rifle Certification | Combat | Increases Rifle DMG |
| Robotics | Tech | Increases DMG to Robots and Turrets |
| Scanning | Science | Scanning detects uncommon inorganic resources on planet and moon surfaces. |
| Spacesuit Design | Science | You can craft improved spacesuit, helmet and pack mods |
| Scavenging | Social | Find more credits while looting |
| Special Projects | Science | You can research experimental projects at the Research Lab |
| Security | Tech | Can attempt to hack more advanced locks |
| Ship Command | Social | You can have up to 4 active crew members |
| Sharpshooting | Combat | Headshot critical damage is increased by 50% for ranged weapons |
| Shield Systems | Tech | Ship has 20% increased shield capacity |
| Shotgun Certification | Combat | Increases Shotgun DMG |
| Sniper Certification | Combat | Decreases scoped weapon sway |
| Starship Design | Tech | Unlocks more ship pre-built modules |
| Starship Engineering | Tech | Unlocks more ship custom modules |
| Stealth | Physical | Increases sneak attack DMG |
| Surveying | Science | The Surveying skill likely gives you bonuses to your scanning percentage when using your survey tool. |
| Targeting | Combat | Increases hipfire accuracy and range |
| Targeting Control Systems | Tech | Target different subsystems on enemy ships |
| Theft | Social | Increases pickpocketing success chance |
| Weight Lifting | Physical | Increases carry capacity |
| Weapon Enigeering | Science | You can craft improved weapon mods at workbenches |
| Wellness | Physical | Increases max HP |
| Xenosociology | Social | Force an NPC to do your bidding temporarily |
| Zoology | Science | You can get more common resources from creatures and harvest these without harming them / you can also produce animal resources at your outpost |
Those are all the skills and abilities you can use in Starfield! For more content on the game, check out our guides below:
Starfield all main story missions | All skills | All factions | All console commands | All difficulty levels explained | All achievements | All skill books | Level cap | How to remove bounty | How to fast travel | Easy XP | Easy credits | Best traits | How to get a house | How to mod weapons and equipment | How to assign your crew | How to add DLSS | How to pick locks | How to customize ship | How to dock ship | Where to sell items | Best movies like Starfield